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Marita Cheng grew up poor, living in a housing commission home in north Queensland. Marita was an excellent student in school, finishing in the top 0.2% of the nation. After graduating, Marita moved to Melbourne to start her engineering studies. In 2008, she founded the not-for-profit, Robogals. In 2012, she was named Australia’s Young Australian of the Year. Marita recently spoke at Sydney’s Young Minds Conference where the theme was How Do We Grow a Good Person? Afterwards, happychild spoke with Marita about what it takes to achieve your dreams. Read full article

Dr Wendy Mogel asked this question when presenting at the Young Minds Conference in Sydney this week. Dr Mogel is an acclaimed clinical psychologist, parenting expert and author of The New York Times best-selling parenting book, The Blessing of a B-Minus. Her presentation explored the ‘new normal’ for today’s parents and she made some practical suggestions for raising self-reliant children and teenagers. Read full article

In a study that is the first of its kind, researchers observing real-world parent-child interactions have shown the lasting effect of parents’ praise on their children’s behaviours and thoughts. In this article, reporting on the research, you will learn about which type of praise has a positive impact on children's motivation and persistence, and be provided with examples. Read full article

Promising results from pilot studies of teachers using mindfulness in classrooms are exciting educators who say that nurturing teacher mindfulness is a great opportunity to create a caring classroom... results from a study ...of 50 teachers participating in a professional development program facilitated by CARE ... showed that having mindfulness practice in the classroom helped teachers to achieve goals in the classroom, regulate their emotions better, and relate better to students. Read full article

An open letter via video from parent of three boys, emotional intelligence expert and parenting publisher Yvette Vignando - asking for Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Minister for Education Peter Garrett to take action on including a quality social and emotional learning program in the Australian National Curriculum. Read full article

Michael Grose is an Australian parenting educator and author. In this one hour recording, he speaks with Yvette Vignando about how to raise a resilient child; how to build your own resilience as a parent; the main ingredients of a resilient family; how to develop resourcefulness, independence and persistence in your children and how to help your children cope with change, failure or conflict. Read full article

A content-rich podcast on the connections between emotional intelligence in children and academic success. Children with stronger social and emotional skills do better academically and socially. Professor Cohen defines "social and emotional learning" and shares the important research on character education and emotional intelligence education. This recording is a "must listen" for every parent and teacher. Read full article

A book published by two Oxford Brookes University academics suggested that a rise in “therapeutic education” in schools could be a bad development. The book is called The Dangerous Rise of Therapeutic Education. Apparently the book criticises school lessons that contain “social and emotional” content on the basis that these lessons may turn children into introverted, self-obsessed people who can not take criticism. Read full article

Book: The Optimistic Child by Martin Seligman.This book shows adults how to teach children the skills of optimism These skills can help them combat depression and achieve more academically, in sports and improve their physical health. Read full article

Self esteem can be an over-rated concept if you don't understand what it really means. Verity Leatherdale writes about some basic steps to bolster your child's self esteem including how to use praise properly and how to teach your child to face challenges. Read full article